The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a system and method for concentrating a solid fuel in a slurry prior to gasification.
Synthesis gas or “syngas” is a mixture of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2) and other components present in lesser degrees, such as carbon dioxide (CO2). Syngas has a number of uses, such as in power generation, steam generation, heat generation, substitute natural gas (SNG) production, as well as chemical synthesis. Syngas can be produced using gasification processes, which utilize a solid, liquid, and/or gaseous carbonaceous fuel source such as coal, coke, oil, and/or biomass, to react with oxygen (O2) to produce the syngas within a gasifier. While certain carbonaceous fuels may be provided to the gasifier directly, solid carbonaceous fuel sources are often provided to the gasifier as a fuel slurry, where the solid fuel is dispersed within a liquid, such as water. The liquid is used to facilitate flow of the solid fuel into the gasifier as well as to facilitate dispersal of the solid fuel within the gasifier, for example to increase gasification efficiency. Unfortunately, the presence of liquid in the slurry reduces the energy content of syngas produced per unit weight of feed as compared with other more concentrated fuel sources, such as liquid, solids, or gaseous feeds.